Big Boom
by EE's Skysong
Summary: AU. A small group of the Xmen head down to New Orleans to collect a new mutant. Problem is, said mutant doesn't want to be recruited, and is pretty powerful. And then of course a vaguely sinister figure gets mixed up in it all...
1. Catch me if you can

Super Disclaimer: Nothing and no one, say it with me.

(An: This idea came to me out of the blue and I just expounded on it until I got this. I just hated how they had Remy on the Acolytes- it's not fair! He was only in a few eps- so I like doing AU's where that nasty little detail gets fixed. All right, stuff you need to know: 1)I am -aware- that Kurt has an accent, but since he's my fav char, I refuse to submit him to the indignity of codifying it2) I'm not going to have Remy talk in third person much 'cause he doesn't in Evo, 3) this is set towards the middle of the second season, 4) symbols: italics are thoughts and/or other languages, bold is emphasis, ect.)

Rogue wasn't exactly sure just how so much chaos had happened in the space of about five minutes.

She had thought watching the mansion would be easy; all she was supposed to do was make sure that Kitty, Kurt, Sam, and/or Rahne didn't do anything majorly destructive.

However, majorly destructive pretty much summed up what had happened.

Rogue wasn't quite sure about how it had happened. She had left her post on the couch for a few minutes to get a soda and Kitty and Kurt had snuck past her.

Somehow, they'd managed to get a noodle bomb in Logan's room. Logan, smelling it, got Sam (who was passing by at the time) to open it, just in case. He got slammed by the bomb and that activated his powers, in turn slamming him into Rahne's room and breaking down her door.

So now she was sitting in the professor's office, trying to explain what had gone on.

She had finished up her explanation and was waiting for the professor's verdict when there was a beeping sound from Cerebro's chamber. "New mutant detected," said an electronic voice.

A FEW HOURS LATER

Feeling exactly the way she had earlier, Rogue stepped off the X-jet.

The professor had decided as punishment, he was sending Rogue, Kurt, Kitty, Logan, Sam, and Rahne to collect the new mutant.

"All right, bubs," said Logan, gesturing for them to gather by him, "here's the deal. This mutant is dangerous. He has absolutely **no control**, and just about anything he touches blows up. He knows the territory, and has nothing to lose. If you find him, do not engage. Ya got that?"

He glared at them and they all nodded.

"Good. We're pairin' off. Elf, you're with Half-Pint. Cannonball, Wolfsbane, you're together. Stripes, you're with me. All right. We're lookin' fer a tall nineteen-ish man, brown hair, weird eyes. He shouldn't be too hard to find. If you run into him, contact the others and tail him. Now, break."

The three groups headed off in different directions throughout New Orleans.

-

Sam and Rahne found him first.

"Do ye hear somethin'?" asked Rahne, stopping short.

"No..." said Sam, looking around.

Rahne transformed. She stood there for a moment, ears cocked, and then ran off down the street, Sam in hot pursuit.

-

Remy LeBeau ran down the street, hands fisted. He had no idea what was going on with him, only that touching things was a very bad idea right now.

He refused to think about that though; right now he was fixed on finding somewhere to hide, since the Assassins were hot on his tail.

He skidded into an alleyway and ducked behind a dumpster. There was the sound of pounding feet as the mob of irate thieves ran by.

Remy could hardly believe his luck. He leaned against the wall for a second, panting. _I've just gotta get outta here, to de bayou. I can hide dere tonight, skip town tommorrow._

He wasn't sure what to do about the touching thing though.

He was about to head for the bayou when he was approached by two people.

-

Sam saw him first. The guy fit the description: teenaged, tall, with eyes that seemed to glow in the dark alley. He whispered into his com and then headed into the alley.

-

The people were dressed alike, in black spandexy suits; there the similarities ended. The girl had russet red hair and green eyes. The guy was taller, with blond hair that brushed his shoulders and smoky blue eyes. He took a few hesitant steps forward.

Remy considered his options. They weren't all that promising. The alleyway was narrow and he wasn't sure if the touching thing applied to people just yet.

"Hello," said the boy. "My name is Sam. I-"

There was the sound of shouting in the distance.

Remy ignored his better sense and pushed past the confused teens.

-

Rahne and Sam stood there blinking for a second. Sam pressed his com again. "He ran off," Sam reported. He turned it off, and spoke to Rahne. "Ok, that didn't work. Think you can smell him?"

Rahne nodded. "Man's got a strong scent," she commented, and transformed.

She trotted off, nose to the ground, Sam following.

-

Kurt and Kitty weren't having any luck. They'd gotten Sam and Rahne's com message, but were staying in their part of the city, since according to them, he'd run in their direction. However, New Orleans was a big city, with plenty of back alleys and winding streets.

"Well, he's not down that way," said Kurt, by Kitty's side.

"So let's try this o-" Kitty began. She was interrupted by the guy who ran into her. He phased through her and hit the ground with an undignified thud.

"_Mon Dieu,"_ he whispered, looking behind himself, then at his hands, palm down on the sidewalk. Said sidewalk was glowing a faint red.

"I don't think that's, like, a good sign," said Kitty. "Bamf!"

Kurt grabbed her and put a hand on the guy. They were gone in a cloud of smoke.

The sidewalk section exploded, dissuading Rahne and Sam, who walked by just as it did.

"Ow," said Kitty, lying on top of Kurt, who in turn was on top of the guy. "Kurt, we need to, like, work on your landings."

The boy scrambled out from beneath them, his eyes wide. He stood up, looking as though he was in too much shock to run.

Kitty stood up, her hands held up in a gesture of harmlessness. "Don't be, like, scared. We're here to help."

The guy let out a hoarse bark of a laugh as he backed up. "Don' be scared? _Petite,_ if you've been through what I have, _Dieu,_ it's impossible not to be." His bearings back, he ran off.

Kurt sat up, notifying everyone else that they'd found him on his com.

Kitty rolled her eyes at the retreating Cajun, then helped Kurt up and resumed chase.

A few minutes later, they were joined by Rahne and Sam.

"I wonder why nobody thinks that a wolf, a demon, a valley girl, and a southerner chasing a guy is weird," Kurt commented, panting.

"This is New Orleans," Sam replied. "Everyone's either drunk or just doesn't care."

(And that's a wrap. I'd enjoy it if you'd review.)


	2. Sit down and shut up

(An: Sorry for the slow updates; I've had this chapter written up for a while but it was saved on another computer.)

Remy skidded along a back alley, trying to decide what was worse: being chased by a mob, or being chased by a group of creepy people who could do impossible things.

He got his answer when he turned a corner and was confronted by a group of very angry Assassins.

He ran, just trying to get out of New Orleans. So that was why he turned the wrong corner and came to a dead end.

-

Rogue and Logan were having problems finding the mutant.

The professor had given them a tracker, but it only worked when he used his powers, and so far he hadn't.

They got to the end of a street and turned a corner. They heard the sound of shouting from an alley near the end of the street.

Logan sniffed the air. "A mob," he said his tone rife with disgust. "Stay here, Stripes."

Rogue scowled but leaned against the building.

-

Logan walked into the alley.

A teenager- the mutant- was being backed up against the wall by a large mob, most of whom were holding knives.

They looked like they wouldn't hesitate to use them, either.

One of them stepped out from the pack. His eyes were murderous as he advanced on the mutant. "Y' killed m' sister,_ batârd!_"

"It was an accident!" the mutant replied. He looked very pale as his back finally hit the wall.

"Dat don' make Belladonna any less dead, now do it?!" snapped the first one. He took a few more steps until he was nearly at the guy.

A weird kind of desperation entered the mutant's eyes and he unfisted his hands.

-

Rogue fidgeted, waiting for Logan to tell her what was going on.

Then she didn't have to. There was a shout of, "Get de hell away from m'!"

And then there was a loud explosion as the side wall of the alley fell in.

Rogue dodged the bits of flying rubble and waited for the dust to clear before ducking into the alley.

Logan was ok; he'd just sliced any rubble that came at him with his claws.

A guy who was obviously the mutant was unharmed. He was in shock, his eyes flicking from the pile of bloody bricks that had been the Assassins, to his hands, to the gaping hole where the wall had once been. He made a strangled sound and collapsed.

"Ya all right, Logan?" asked Rogue, picking her way over to them.

"I'm fine, Stripes," said Logan. "I don't think the kid is though." He gestured at the mutant.

"What now?"

"Get the other X-men. Tell 'em to meet us back at the jet." He slung the mutant over his shoulder and headed out of town.

TWO HOURS LATER...

A very sore Remy LeBeau came to. He opened one eye. He was in the bayou. Funny, he didn't remember coming here.

He noticed how much his head hurt, and his hands itched like he'd stuck them in a poison ivy patch.

...His hands...

Remy gasped and sat up with a start. He checked the ground. Whatever he did didn't seem to affect plants, since there was none of that tell-tale red glow.

There weren't any of those people around, either, so he scrambled into one of the scrawny trees that inhabited the bayou.

From his vantage point in the tree he now saw the gigantic black jet parked nearby. There was a hissing sound as a door opened in the side.

The four people he'd seen earlier came walking out: the two girls, the guy, and the blue... thing. They were joined by a short, hairy man and the most absolutely _belle _girl Remy'd ever seen.

The new girl groaned when she saw he was gone. "Aw, man," she said in a thick Mississippi accent. "Why is it that whenevah we go to recruit someone they nevah stick around?" 

"He's up there," said the hairy guy, pointing straight at him. He nudged the girl and she walked up to the tree, followed by the blue guy and the brown-haired girl.

"Ya wanna come down so we can talk?" the _belle_ one asked.

Remy just stared at them, trying to figure out a way to get out of here without having to go past them.

"We're not goin' ta hurt ya," said the girl, sounding a little bit exasperated now. "Sure ya don't wanna come down?"

Remy continued staring down at them- her in specific. They'd go away, sooner or later...

-

"You, like, bored yet?" Kitty asked Rogue.

"Yep," said Rogue. "Kurt, get 'im. Wolfsbane, commere."

Kurt bamfed up into the tree grabbed the very startled mutant, and bamfed back to the ground.

When they got to the ground, the mutant backed up, babbling something about devils and insanity in French.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Wolfsbane, tackle him."

Rahne hesitated, then transformed. She jumped forward, knocking Remy over, and put a large red paw on his chest. She growled when he tried to move.

"All right," said Rogue, bending over him. "Are ya gonna cooperate now, or does Wolfie here have ta bite ya?"

-

Remy's response was a very rude suggestion in French.

The girl glared down at him. She had green eyes. "Sorry, Ah don't do that on first dates," she said. "Bite him."

The wolf-girl whined.

"All right, then don't," she muttered. "Ok. Mah name's Rogue. This is Kurt," she pointed at the blue guy, "Kitty," she pointed at the other girl, "And the one on your chest is Rahne. Back there's Logan and Sam. Now, then, we've introduced ourselves. Who're you?"

Remy just stared at her.

"No?" she asked. "Are ya goin' ta tell me or do Ah have ta knock ya out ta find out?" She took off one of her gloves in a threatening manner.

"Dat supposed t' scare m'?" asked Remy.

"Bite him," said Rogue.

Rahne bared her teeth at Remy.

"Well?"

"It very hard t' talk like dis," Remy said.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Wolfie, let up."

The wolf looked relieved. She backed up and became a human again.

Remy stood up, brushing himself off. "M' name's Remy. What do y' people want with _moi_?"

"We want ta help," said Rogue.

Remy snorted. "And 'm supposed t' believe dat?"

"Ah can still knock ya out, ya know," said Rogue in a nonchalant tone.

"She will," said the blue guy in a German accent. He bobbed his head fervently.

"All right, den, second question," said Remy. "Why in de world would y' want t' help m'?"

"Believe me, Ah'm startin' ta question that mahself," Rogue muttered.

"Stick to the script, Stripes," said Logan.

"Ah know, Ah know," Rogue muttered. "All right. Look. We're members of a group called the X-men. We're all mutants, like you, and- uh, do Ah really have ta say the next part?"

"Say it, Stripes," said Logan, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Ugh. Fine. 'And we want ta extend tha hand of friendship to ya,'" said Rogue disgustedly. "Xavier needs a bettah speech writer."

"...What?" asked Remy, blinking.

"We want ya ta join tha team," said Rogue.

"Right..."

(Well, it's not as good as the New Orleans comment but that is end chappy folks. Tune in next time as I mess with Remy's past, once again.. –evil laughter-)


	3. Eh heh, oops

(An: A lot of people seemed to like that I killed off Belladonna. Glad to be among like-minded maniacs. –nods-)

"So are ya with us?" asked Rogue.

"I still don't get who 'you' are," Remy said.

"Ah give up," said Rogue, throwing up her hands. "Logan!"

The hairy guy came over, smirking. "Yeah, Stripes?"

"Yah're the senior membah, ya explain," said Rogue.

"All right, Gumbo-"

"M' name's Remy!" he interjected indignantly.

"It's Gumbo now," said Logan. "Anyway, like Rogue said, we're the X-men. Our leader, Xavier, heard you're having a little... problem controlling your powers. What we want is for you to get in the nice jet so we can take you back to the mansion and help ya out."

"Help m' how?" asked Remy.

"Like controllin' your powers," said Rogue. "Idiot."

"Play nicely with the other mutants, Stripes," said Logan.

"Curl up and die," was Rogue's response.

"But first, Gumbo-"

"It's **Remy!**"

"Gumbo," said Logan, nodding. "A little explanation. What was the reason for the mob?"

"Oh, dat," said Remy, looking uncomfortable. "It's sort of a long story..."

"So is everything," said Logan. "We need to know so we don't have lawyers or something nasty breathing down our necks."

"Ok..." Remy rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding the curious gazes of the gathered X-men. "Um, it goes like dis.

"In N'awlin's, dere're two Guilds, de Thieves and de Assassins. Dey hate each other. Dey fight all de time.

"Lately, t'ings've been getting' worse. Dey're after each other all de time. Killin', riots, it jus' don' stop. Somehow, de heads of bot' Guilds got de idea dat havin' an inter-Guild marriage would stop all de problems. Had somethin' t' do with some obscure law- I din' understand it.

"What I did understand was dat I was de 'lucky' one. I got stuck in an arranged marriage wit' de daughter of de head of de other Guild- Belladonna." He began to look more nervous now.

"I still don' understand what happened. De weddin' was supposed t' be yesterday. I felt kind o' sick, but I jus' wanted it t' end. I did... somethin' t' de ring when I was holdin' it... I tripped... de entire church collapsed. It was a really big boom- like what I did back in de alley. When de dust cleared Belladonna and m' brother were dead.

"I ran. De Assassin's followed m'. I guess now dey're dead too. All in a day's work, suppose," he finished with a kind of grim humor.

"Aren't arranged marriages, like, illegal?" asked Kitty, looking disgusted.

"We're thieves, _petite_, y' t'ink we care?"

They had been so caught up in Remy's strange tale that they almost didn't notice the small jet that landed next to theirs.

-

Mr. Sinister prided himself on his smile- not quite evil on first glance, but still bad enough to make people wary.

The subjects, all six X-men and the intriguing new addition, were lined up by their jet. "Convenient," he murmured.

The pilot didn't say anything; he was a mute because he had dared to comment about Mr. Sinister's state of mind.

As he gazed down at the lined up X-men, he smiled.

-

The X-men might've continued to ignore the new arrival, if a man hadn't stepped out and thrown a small bomb at them.

(Mwa-hahah! A cliffhanger! And I'm aware that it's shorter than usual. I had to fake this chapter. The next one'll be better.)


	4. The Elegant Mr Sinister

(An: Sorry I haven't been updating. I always have a chapter in a story where I get writer's block and this is it. It's probably crap and it's undoubtedly short but at least it's an update, and the others will be faster. I'm sorry but I'm not good at action so that's why. Oh... I kind of messed with Sinister because I'm going by bios and the assumption that he had genetic enhancements... so this is –before- he became the whole easily-defeated-snakelike-guy, are we clear? And I'm kind of playing N'Awlins geography by ear... so just humor me here, ok?)

Without seeming to think about it, Remy stepped in front of the others, grabbed a rock off the ground in front of him, and threw it at the bomb. They intersected and blew up in midair.

Remy blinked, and looked rather startled. He had a "did I do that?" look on his face.

After that another man stepped out of the jet. He was short and mouse-ish, but he seemed to ooze creepiness. Maybe it was the glowing red eyes, maybe the fangs in his smile, perhaps just the smile himself. Whatever it was, he definitely made up for in creepiness what he lacked in stature.

Logan stepped up, claws out and snarling. "What was that for, bub?"

The man just looked at them as though they were bugs in a jar. "Interesting..." He took a few steps toward them, still wearing that smile.

Logan growled. "Lemme try this slower, bub. What. Do. You. Want?"

The man seemed to consider his words before speaking. "My name is Mr. Sinister and I have a proposition to offer you..."

"Ah don't know about the rest of ya, but Ah don't usually make deals with people who try ta kill me," Rogue interjected.

"She has a point," said Kurt, nodding.

Mr. Sinister smirked. "I thought you might say that. Before things get messy, why not hear me out?"

"We **don't** make deals," said Logan.

Mr. Sinister rolled his eyes. "I thought as much." He sighed. "There's just no reasoning with subjects." He snapped his fingers. The other guy stepped forward.

"I suggest we back up," whispered Remy, taking his own advice and stepping onto one of the pieces of completely dry land.

The others followed.

However, this was the problem.

The man rummaged in his coat pockets for a second, coming out with something small that rather resembled the bomb he'd thrown at them, except there were five of them now. He pushed an identical button on each, then threw them.

There was an unpleasant ticking sound. The X-men tried to scramble off, but it was a little late for that; the mini-bombs landed in a circle around them and blew up. The charges were smaller but stronger, effectively collapsing the ground and dropping the X-men into a cavern.

Remy looked up at the hole they'd fallen through, about two miles up. "Ok, dis puts a wrench in de works."

Kitty sat down. "We're, like, lost, we're bein' chased by some, like, really creepy guy, and we're at least two miles, like, underground. Could things get any worse?"

"Um, I think I'm stuck," said Rahne, trying to tug her foot out from beneath a pile of rock.

"Dat answers dat," said Remy.

(I've said it before and I'll say it again: if there's one thing I hate more than crap, it's short crap. Meh. The next one'll be better, I swear. I actually know how I'm going to go about it. Rejoice.)


	5. Rules of Thieving

(An: Sooooo sorry this was so late but my brain skipped. I have the attention span of a gnat so I have problems concentrating on a story for more then a week. And I had to tweak and tweak and tweak this chappy until I was happy with it. Oh yes... and Sinister has an image inducer. I finally found a -good- Sinister bio so now I understand his powers. You may've noticed that I cut the pairings list and changed the genre; well that's because I'm going to make this into a series folks; yes, an infamous Skysong trilogy's in the works.)

"Go fetch the gas," said Mr. Sinister.

The mute did as he was told, and was about to throw it when Sinister stopped him.

"Don't. Not yet. I want to see how they cope."

-

Logan and Sam, the closest to Rahne, helped her shift the rock off her foot. "Ow," Rahne whispered.

Logan inspected it for a second. "Broken," he pronounced.

"This isn't good," said Sam.

"And ye just figured that out?" Rahne snapped, trying to shift her foot.

Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue had been watching this in a stunned silence.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Kurt asked.

"A question for the ages," said Rogue.

"Is anyone else completely confused by this?" Remy asked.

Kurt put a companionable arm around Remy's shoulders. "Get used to it, _mein fruend_," he said, tone longsuffering. "You're pretty much an X-man now, and for us, confusion is a constant state of being."

"Like, amen to that," said Kitty.

Remy gave Kurt a slow nod while backing out of his hold. He was smiling, but it was the kind of smile you'd give an escaped mental patient.

"I think a better question is 'where are we?'" said Sam.

"Dat's easy," Remy said, looking relieved to have something he could explain. "We're two miles out o' N'Awlins, and maybe... two miles down."

"Ok, so yah're expectin' us to believe we went down just outside there and hit rock?" said Rogue, tapping the side of the hole.

"It's not rock," Remy objected. "It's really, really hardpacked dirt. Dere're crevices like dis all 'round here, but usually dey filled with water. But it hasn't rained in a while..." Remy shrugged.

"Do ya look this all up or somethin'?" asked Rogue, eyebrow raised.

Remy nodded, and held up a finger. "Rule number one, _chere_, know y'r surroundin's."

"And those would be rules of...?"

"Thievin', o' course," Remy replied, a faint smirk on his face.

Rogue rolled her eyes but shut up.

"So den, what're y'all's powers?" Remy asked, leaning against the side of the hole.

"And ya care... why?" Rogue asked.

"Rule number two: know y'r assets," said Remy.

"What makes you think we're anythin' special, anyway?" Rahne asked.

Remy raised his eyebrows. "Besides all the weird t'ings I've seen y' do? Y'all're runnin' around in spandex, for one t'ing, like cut-rate superheroes."

"Well, that's a new way to refer to us," said Kurt. Kitty nodded fervently.

"Besides, I assume dat if I come with you and become an 'X-man,' wouldn't dat mean I'd find out anyway?"

"You know, he's got a point," said Kurt.

Rogue nudged Logan. "It's **so** your turn to do the explainin'."

Logan rolled his eyes and rattled off the present members powers. "I ain't goin' into detail about the other New Mutants, or Scooter, Red, or Porcupine."

"All right, den," said Remy, nodding, and once again wearing the escaped-mental-patient smile.

Logan, having dealt with that, returned to the problem of getting out. He let out his claws and stuck his claws into the hard-packed dirt.

"If y're t'inkin' of climbin', don' bother," said Remy. "Up higher, it's so much mud and roots. Dat's why we're down here in de first place."

Logan pulled his claws out of the dirt and retracted them.

"Can't you just bamf us out?" Sam asked Kurt.

He snorted. "Are you kidding me? Two people, one mile up, **maybe**. But six? I can't teleport six people two feet."

"Well," said Rogue, "if we can't get out ourselves, we'll have to call for backup."

Logan rolled his eyes but pulled out the cell-phone like communicator (a la X-2). He muttered something into it, then closed it with a snap.

"So?" said Rogue.

"Nobody's there," Logan replied. "I left the coordinates, so now we gotta wait."

-

"Now you can throw it," said Mr. Sinister. "They're trying to contact someone."

The mute dropped the little canister down the hole.

Down there, the small group of mutants passed out as the gas spread out.

Mr. Sinister smirked, feeling very pleased. A few more mutants came out of the jet and got the unconscious X-men into it.

"I just love it when everything goes according to plan," Sinister murmured as he stepped aboard the jet himself.

(Another one of those iffy chapters. I can't promise the next chapter will be out tomorrow but if it's not then the next two (and last) chapters will be out on Tuesday. I'm being dragged along for a family Christmas party. If I survive, it will be out. If I don't... none of you are in my will.)


	6. What You Want

(An: I'm free! We're not going on the evil trip of doom! -does a dance- And Wolfsbane, I'm doing an entire -story- on Rahmyness. In the -upcoming series-. That goes ditto for Romy and Kurtty.)

Mr. Sinister watched the monitor with rapt attention. The two subjects of the group he was interested in were in a seperate cell from the others, a special cell. He was interested in them because they were powerful, and because they were without control.

It was unfortunate that they hadn't sent the Summers boy with this mission. He would've been an interesting subject as well, but two were good enough.

He was interested in their reaction when they discovered that the chemical he'd put in the paint on the walls would block their powers. If they responded well to that, they would do even better when he offered them it permanently.

-

Remy blinked. He had no idea where he was. The overpowering smell of vanilla was the only thing he was really aware of. He shifted a bit, and discovered that the reason was because he was very, very close to Rogue. He edged away, having gotten the idea that she would slap him if he got within five feet of her.

When he attempted to sit up, he ended up nearly falling over, thanks to a wave of dizziness and a headache. He sat there for a moment, head spinning, as he tried to get his bearings. _Haven't felt dis bad since de mornin' after Mardi Gras..._

Now that he was away from Rogue's hair, he noticed the entire room smelled of fresh paint. There was something beneath that main scent, but Remy's head hurt too much for him to identify it.

He blamed the headache for not realizing the big thing right away. When he did, he couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough to miss it. He wasn't blowing anything up.

Experimentally, he rubbed a hand on the wall. There wasn't any tell-tale red glow, so he found it safe to pull them away.

While his fingers weren't causing any trouble, they were covered in something, the same color as the smooth stone walls.

He sniffed them. _Coconuts?_ he wondered. _Jus' about everythin' I touch blows up, I've joined a group of cut-rate superheroes, and now I smell like coconuts. Yep folks, welcome t' insanity. May I take y'r order?_

Nearby, Rogue stirred. She sat up, rubbing her temples. "Somebody get the number of that bus," she mumbled, looking around. "Where are we? And why do Ah smell like coconuts?"

"Apparently," said Remy, "it's the air freshener fragrance preferred by maniacs."

"Where do ya think the others are?"

"Probably in coconut scented summer homes of deir own," Remy suggested.

Rogue gave him an odd look, then rubbed the walls like he had. She took off her glove and did it again, fingers made even paler by the white smudge. She smelled her fingers and wrinkled her nose. "Who in the world makes paint scented like coconuts?"

"De same person who sells glowy eye contacts?"

"Shut up," said Rogue, but not unkindly. She rubbed her fingers together. "Would you think Ah was absolutely nuts if Ah asked if Ah could touch ya?"

"And y' mean what by touch me?" Remy asked. "'Cause if y' mean t' bitch slap m', I'd like t' know why first."

Rogue pulled a face. "Don't be stupid, swamp rat," she replied.

Remy cocked his head. "Swamp rat?" he mouthed.

"Ah've spent too much time with Logan lately," Rogue said, by way of explanation. "So can Ah touch ya or not?"

Remy smirked. "Whatever y' want, _chere_."

"Don't call me that!" Rogue glared at him for a moment, then reached out and gently touched his face. After a second, she pulled her hand back as if burned, and stared at it. "Power negating chemicals smell like coconuts. That's one for Beast," she murmured.

"Who's Beast?" Remy asked.

"A teacher at the Institute," Rogue replied, her eyes still focused on her ungloved hand.

"And de Institute is...?"

"We didn't tell ya anythin', did we," Rogue murmured.

"Nope," Remy replied cheerfully. "But, t' tell y' de truth, even if y' were all like de weird guy dat kidnapped us, if y' offered m' a way outta N'Awlins, I woulda followed y' witout a word."

"Ya really must be desperate ta get outta there." Rogue took her eyes off her gloves and returned them to Remy's face.

Remy shrugged. "Well, I woulda gotten banished anyway, and what better way t' leave den wit' a bunch o' teenagers and a hairy maniac in spandex?"

Rogue snorted at that. "When ya put it that way, we sound like a bunch of idiots."

Remy grinned. "And **nobody **would get dat idea jus' by lookin' at y'."

"Shut up," Rogue said again, glaring at him.

"So, purely out of curiousity," said Remy, "what were y' expectin' t' happen when y' touched m'?"

Rogue grimaced. "Usually when Ah touch someone skin-on-skin, Ah absorb 'em- powers, energy, memories, whatever. It's really annoying."

"Dat must suck," Remy murmured.

"Yeah, pretty much so," said Rogue, looking at the walls now. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Good question," said Remy. "I've been tryin' t' figure out a way since I woke up."

He stood up and tilted his head back. "De paint only goes up to a point," he mused. "Way way up dere's a window. If we could get to it I could blow it up and we could get out of here."

"What about the others?" Rogue asked, also standing.

"We worry 'bout dem later," he replied. He pulled something out of his pocket and pressed a button on it. The little metal stump turned into a long, silvery stick.

"Do ya always carry around a retractable metal stick?" Rogue inquired, eyebrow raised.

"_Oui,_" said Remy, then paused. "Dat sounded really weird, didn' it?"

"Yeah," Rogue agreed, nodding. "What is that thing anyway?"

"It's a bo staff. Preferred breaking-and-entering tool of theives in N'Awlins."

Rogue shook her head. "That's just weird."

"Hey, it works," Remy replied with a shrug. He twirled the staff as he stared up at the window, contemplating the best way to go about it.

Then of course the wall opened up.

Remy dropped his stick and stared.

Mr. Sinister was no longer wearing that annoying holowatch, so he was revealed in all his spider-like glory. Needl"ess to say, it was pretty damn creepy.

He smiled. "Enjoying your stay?"

"Not really, no," said Rogue, who had gotten over it. "Ah don't really care for coconut."

Mr. Sinister shrugged. "It's an aftereffect of power negaters. But I suspect you really don't mind."

"All right, what do ya want?" Rogue asked, hand on her hip.

"What would give you the idea that I wanted something?"

"Yah're a supervillain," said Rogue. "Or at the very least a megalomaniac with aspirations. And since ya went to the trouble of kidnappin' us instead of killin' us, ya want somethin' from us."

"You're very perceptive, Rogue," said Mr. Sinister, and his tone was almost indulgent, like a person talking to a small child.

"Please, cut the crap," said Rogue. "Are we gonna fight or are ya gonna make an offer?"

"All right, all right, straight to the point," Mr. Sinister said, holding up his hands. "It's really very basic. I want your powers."

"And bah that ya mean...? Cause if ya want us ta be brain-washed super-soldiers then we can skip straight ta the butt-kickin' part."

"No, no, nothing like that," Mr. Sinister replied. "Just a little shot and your powers are gone."

"And let meh guess, we smell forevah of coconuts afterward," Rogue snapped. "Ah'm not buyin'. Gimme that stick, Cajun."

Remy handed it to her. His bearings back, he added, "It's a **staff**."

"All right, Mr. Spider-guy, ya have thirty seconds ta explain why ya kidnapped us and/or give us directions to our friends," said Rogue, twirling the staff. "Ah may not be able ta knock ya out but I damn sure as well can make ya regret comin' near meh."

"Touchy touchy," said Mr. Sinister, shaking his finger. "Surely you don't like not being able to touch?"

"Tick tock," said Rogue, her teeth clenched.

"All I'm offering you is freedom," said Mr. Sinister. "I can completely remove your powers. One little shot and poof! gone. And you, Remy, I can leaven your powers down to a more manageable level."

Remy just sneered. "T'anks, but I don' take t'ings from strangers."

Mr. Sinister sighed. "I really hoped it wouldn't come to this. I don't understand what's wrong with my strategy. I offer you the one thing you want- control- and yet still I never win out without force. Perhaps it's my appearance. All right, listen. I'll give you one last chance. Just accept now and I won't have to get nasty."

"Time's up," Rogue said, and threw the stick at Sinister, with surprising accuracy.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. The stick clattered against his chest, leaving a mark... that promptly disappeared. "Now that we've established that you can't hurt me... can we move on?" He snapped his fingers.

Two of the mutants who worked for him stepped up. One of them handed him a box. "Maybe I haven't explained myself well enough. I don't like to fight. I like my subjects to be willing." He opened it. Inside were two syringes. "There's a chemical in these, that'll drain off your powers. I want them for my experiments. Seeing as they seem to cause you nothing but trouble, I don't understand why this is such a bad thing."

For the first time since Sinister had arrived, Rogue faltered. "What are the side effects?"

"For the first few days, perhaps dizziness, nausea, headaches, and yes, possibly the prevailing smell of coconuts, but considering the gains, I see no reason why these would deter you from getting rid of them," Sinister replied, with a small shrug. "And anyway, they fade quickly."

Rogue bit her lip.

-

Meanwhile, a few miles away from Sinister's complex, another jet was landing next to the X-jet. It was the Blackbird (1). Out of it stepped more people in spandex, who Logan had referred to as Scooter, Red, and Porcupine, as well as Ororo.

Jean put a hand to her temple. "They're long gone," she announced.

"Where would they go, though?" Spyke asked, looking around.

Cyclops wasn't paying them any attention. "Ok, they fell into a really big hole," he said.

"What?" asked Spyke and Jean in unison.

Cyclops gestured at the hole he was standing by. "The coordinates they left are this hole," he replied. "They must've been stuck. But how did they get in there, and more importantly how did they get out?"

Storm, seeing that the other X-men were nowhere to be found, returned to the jet and pressed a few buttons. She then leaned out of the doorway of the jet. "Cyclops," she called. "I've got a lock on Logan's communicator."

-

"So... do we have a deal?"

"Where're de others?" Remy asked, certain that if Rogue said something now she might do something stupid.

"As you so wisely put it, in summer homes of their own," said Mr. Sinister. "But not coconut scented; the reason the paint was fresh was because we'd just started on this section of holding rooms."

Rogue frowned. "Or in other words, jail cells."

"If you wish to be less eloquent about it, then yes, I suppose so," said Sinister uncomfortably. "But they are unharmed, just unconcious."

Rogue and Remy exchanged uneasy glances. If given thirty more seconds they probably would've made a big mistake and taken those shots, but an exploding ceiling doesn't give you much time for negotiations.

-

Storm landed, another gust of wind carrying down her companions. Cyclops adjusted his visor (with which he'd blasted the big hole in the ceiling).

"Storm! Scott!" Rogue shouted.

The mutants beside Sinister whirled. Mr. Sinister himself sighed. "More of you?" he muttered. The mutant on Sinister's left screeched (2) and everyone but Jean, Mr. Sinister, and the other mutant covered their ears. The glass from the high window clattered down on Remy and Rogue, not that either of them noticed. The lights above everyone else shattered with loud cracks.

Jean put out her hand and the screeching mutant went flying into a wall, instantly silenced.

The second mutant glared and began to stretch, wrapping around the entire group of the X-men.

Remy grabbed the stick out of Rogue's hand, vaulted over Sinister's head, and pulled something out of his pocket. Rogue thought it might be a deck of cards, which was surrounded by a red glow. He threw it. The cards came spilling out and all smacked against the mutant on various places on his body. The mutant let out a faint moan, snapped back to his original shape, and passed out. Remy blinked.

"Impressive," said Mr. Sinister.

Cyclops put up a hand to his visor. "Let them go."

"I never kept them anywhere," Mr. Sinister replied. "We were negotiating."

"Riiight," said Spyke. "Can we just skip to the part where we kick your butt?"

Mr. Sinister shook his head. "Such quaint phrases."

Rogue ducked around Sinister and ran to the other X-men.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't have to do this," he murmured. He let out a shrill whistle and from down the hallway there was the sound of pounding feet.

Cyclops pressed the button on the side of his visor. A very large hole appeared in Sinister's side as he was slammed against the wall by the force of the blast.

Mr. Sinister went down, and did not stir.

Cyclops blinked (you couldn't really tell). "Is he... dead?"

"If not he's very, very unconcious," said Remy, bending over him and picking something up. "Keys," he explained, twirling a few around his finger.

"Just don't blow 'em up before we get the others, swamp rat," Rogue replied. "Ah do suggest we get the others before the owners of those feet arrive."

To make an unecessarily long story short, they fetched the others and were out before the very confused reinforcements arrived.

-

"Why jets?" Remy said, following everyone else into the X-jet.

"What's the matter with jets?" Scott asked.

"It's jus' dat I really don' feel like embarrassing m'self dis soon after meetin' y'all," Remy replied.

"Surely ya don't get airsick," Rogue said, buckling herself into her seat.

Remy just glared at her. "If y'r gonna be dat way 'bout it, den I'll jus' keep it," he muttered.

"Keep what?" Rogue asked, curiousity peaked.

Remy fished around in his pockets until he came out with a pair of gloves.

"What all do ya keep in there?" Rogue asked.

"Mostly theif stuff," said Remy with a shrug. He pulled on the gloves.

"What's up with the gloves?" Rogue asked, noticing that they were already glowing bright red.

"I lose contact wit' somethin', it blow up. I keep on gloves, dey charge, not'in' else does, and I don' have to worry 'bout anythin' else," he replied, renewing the search until he came up with two syringes. "I t'ink dis one's yours," he said, handing her one labeled "Rogue".

"Ok, ya just went waaaay up in mah book," said Rogue.

"That means you went down on her list of people to kill," Evan informed him.

"Shut up, Porcupine," Rogue snapped.

(And that's that. The next chapter might be out tomorrow or tonight depending on how much free time I get.)

(1) I know that technically the Blackbird and the X-jet are the same, but I'm not really sure if there's another X-flying thing so yes...

(2) The reason I used Ruckus and the bendy guy? To be honest, I couldn't remember anyone else.


	7. Settling In

(An: Woot. It's the last chapter. And finally I get to put some Romyness in it. -claps-)

THE NEXT DAY

Rogue fell into step beside Remy. "So what'd ya pick?"

"For what?" Remy asked.

"Your codename," Rogue replied impatiently.

"Uh, Gambit," said Remy, blinking.

"Why that?"

Remy shrugged. "First t'ing dat came t' mind."

"Whatevah. Ah gave those thingies to Hank. He's gonna analyze 'em, make sure they weren't really dangerous or somethin'."

"_D'accord._"

-

Rogue came walking out of the Med Lab, looking a little bit dazed.

Remy had gotten the shot already and had gotten a nominal control over his powers. Nominal because there was still the occasional accidental explosion, usually when Remy was caught off-balance. Considering that he was stuck in the New Recruits' wing, this happened quite a bit more than it would if there'd been a spare room in the senior X-men quarters.

He came up next to her. "So how'd it go?"

"Why do ya care?" Rogue retorted.

"Is it wrong for me t' inquire about de health o' _ma chere?_"

"Ah'm **not** your _chere,_" Rogue snapped.

Remy just smiled at her.

"Fine, fine," Rogue muttered. "There wasn't enough in mah thingy so Ah can only control mah powers for short periods of time- 'bout ten minutes, tops, and Ah really havta concentrate. The professor says that Ah'll be able ta do it for longer with practice."

"So are y' concentratin' now?"

"Yeah, why?" Rogue asked, peeling off her gloves.

Remy stopped walking and stepped in front of her. He then leaned forward and kissed her. "I knew it, " he murmured, after breaking off.

"Knew what?" Rogue asked, feeling dazed again and stupid.

"Y' taste like vanilla," he informed her. He smiled at her, flicked the hair out of her face, and walked off, supposedly to prepare for his first DR session.

Rogue stood there until Kitty came through the wall, a hand on her lips. "Rogue?" she asked, waving her hand in front of Rogue's face.

"Yeah?"

"We've got DR in five minutes," Kitty told her. "Are you, like, coming?"

Rogue shook her head to clear it. "Yeah, yeah, Ah know."

"Ok, like, come on," said Kitty, grinning again.

Rogue, still somewhat dazed (she no longer knew if it was from the shot or the kiss), followed Kitty down the hall to their shared room.

-

"Spandex?" Remy asked, inspecting the standard New Recruit uniform he'd been given. His age had put him on the senior team but he had yet to get a specialty uniform. "**Spandex?!**"

"Ah, shuddup, we all gotta wear 'em," Rogue muttered.

"Y'all must be kiddin'," said Remy.

Scott came walking over. "Just wear it, Gambit."

"_Non!_" Remy replied, shaking his head vehemently.

"Ok, so if you won't wear that, what do you suggest?" Scott asked. If anyone else could have seen his eyes, they would have seemed equally amused and impatient.

"M' theif outfit," said Remy. "Black chest plate, boots, trench coat. Y' said I need a specialty outfit, and I ain't wearin' dat." He gestured down at the forlorn suit.

"All right, look," said Scott. "I'll make you a deal. You wear your 'theif outfit' now, and if Logan lets it go, I won't say anything to the professor."

"_D'accord,_" said Remy cheerfully.

-

A few minutes later, Remy stood in the unactivated Danger Room, giving the control room a nervous glance. "What am I supposed t' do?"

Logan hit the com switch. "Just don't get hit by anythin' and get to the other side, Gumbo."

"It **Gambit,**" Remy muttered. "If y' goin' t' insult me, do it right."

Logan ignored him, just started the session.

The plain gray of the room flickered away to reveal a rather hazardous looking maze. "Lovely," Gambit muttered under his breath, and pulled out a deck of cards.

-

_He ain't bad,_ Logan thought, as he watched Remy pick his way through the maze. _I may not trust 'im, but he's still pretty good._

Remy made it to the other side of the maze with time to spare, and stood there blinking as the maze flickered away. "...Dat was really weird."

"That about sums it up, yeah," said Rogue, next in line for a DR session.

"Shut up, Stripes," Logan muttered.

"Ya shut up or Ah'll absorb ya and break the DR room," Rogue threatened.

-

"So how often do we have t' do dis _merde?_" Remy asked as he walked with Kitty and Rogue.

"A lot," said Rogue and Kitty in unison.

"More, if you, like, get punishment duty," Kitty added.

"Dat jus' **wonderful**," Remy muttered.

"It's the way we all feel 'bout it," Rogue agreed. "Just wait 'til school starts again and we have ta do this before six."

Remy winced. "Ouch. Evil."

"Yep," said Rogue with a grim nod.

"Oh, like, cheer up!" said Kitty.

"Who are y' and how did y' come t' be de spawn of _le diable?_"

"Oh, stop being, like, so dramatic," Kitty replied and walked off.

"She's annoyin', ain't she," said Rogue.

"_Oui,_" Remy agreed.

"Just wait until ya meet Jubilee," said Rogue, clapping Remy on the shoulder.

"'M doomed, aren't I?"

(I cannot promise a speedy sequel, because I have so many other projects that I want to do. Now then, info on the sequel: It's called "Hyperborean Wanderer" (the title's odd, I know, but I have an explanation for it) and will further explore Sinister by introducing (drum roll please) Morph! I happen to like him and such. Second matter, the series. This won't be speedy either, but I'll work on it soon. It's all about power expansion and the first one will focus on Kurt. I haven't picked a title though.)


End file.
